ATX NoPay Startup September Monthly Meetup

Great News Everyone!

We will be hosting our next monthly ATX NoPay Startup meetup Tuesday, Sept 8th at WeWork Austin - 14th Floor on the NW corner of 6th and Congress (the building with the Starbucks). We will start immediately in conference rooms H and I, so please head over when you arrive. The front desk can guide you if you don't know where those are. Meet and Greet will start in the conference rooms at 6PM with free beverages. We will kick off the NoPay Fast Pitches at 6:15PM. From there we'll take it a step further and start the NoPay Startup Sessions - Battle test the pitches! We should be all done by 8-830PM. These sessions can get really interesting so please try to stay for the whole event.

This is a unique and clever experience where people can come together, present their ideas, build solutions and leverage their network. All this while never opening up your wallet. So what's this all about? Think of it like a hackathon meets speed dating meets focus groups. It's a great chance to take part in and build new ideas to help them become viable ventures.

To clear up some common questions:

1. Who Should Attend?
   Anyone who has something to contribute - experience, ideas, connections, etc.
2. Who Should Pitch an Idea?
   Anyone who is formulating or has formulated an idea that needs help working out the kinks, battle testing assumptions, validating markets, figuring out hard problems, or guidance and advice on moving forward. It is a great idea to let us know ahead of time that you plan to pitch, although not mandatory, so we can coach you on what to expect.
3. How Do the Pitches Work?
   Anyone interested in pitching will be given the floor for 1 to 2 minutes depending on the number of pitches. You don't have to be a startup or legally formed yet. You should have a good understanding of what your idea is and what you aim to accomplish. Think of this as a great opportunity to formulate and practice your elevator pitch. There is no need for a slide deck or presentation. We want to hear about what you're doing, how you're doing it, where you are in the process, and any other interesting details that you're working on - size of opportunity, position, intellectual property, etc.
4. What if I'm not ready to pitch?
   First, you should let the audience decide whether or not your pitch is ready. There's no better way to polish your pitch than to actually pitch. You can always pitch again. Second, there are a lot of us in this group with experience, and we're more than happy to help you get ready. Third, if you REALLY still don't want to pitch, you should come anyway, listen, and learn, then pitch next time.
5. Can I bring friends?
   Yes! See #1
6. What Are Skull Sessions?
   Once the pitches are done, we'll vote on a few that we think will be interesting to work on for the rest of the evening. Each nominee will get a chance to work with each group to tap all the expertise in the room. We'll tackle hard questions, give advice, help validate ideas, focus group, share opinions, and put each idea through its paces.
7. What Happens After?
   We hope that everyone walks away invigorated by the experience. We want contributors and ideators to meet, connect, share, grow, and maybe even fuse to go forward and build things together.
8. How Can I Help?
   Really, spreading the word and bringing people to the meetups is the easiest way to help. The more diverse our group is, the wider the skill set we have, and the more powerful our impact can be. If you are particularly good at speaking, moderating, or organizing, there's always room to help run the meetings, coach members, and keep things going.

Looking forward to a great event! If you're planning on pitching, notice ahead of time is not mandatory, but it does help us plan ahead. RSVP's help too.

Ideas, Suggestions, Concerns? I'm all ears - let me know.

THANKS!

• Kevin Putegnat

Look forward to seeing you at WeWork!

Thanks to them for giving us the space for the event! About WeWork:

WeWork provides small businesses, startups, and freelancers with beautiful workspace, inspiring community, and meaningful services. With weekly events, personalized support, flexibility, and access to thousands of like-minded entrepreneurs around the world - WeWork is the perfect place to grow your business in 2015. The WeWork Congress location sits in the heart of downtown Austin at 6th St. and Congress Ave. To learn more about joining the community, email joinus@wework.com or call 855.593.9675.